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Starship
The term starship is used specifically to refer to spacecraft capable of warp-based interstellar travel. This serves to distinguish them from Ships which are aquatic vessels used to travel across water. A starship is a wondrous piece of engineering and by far the most complex machine ever devised and constructed. The sheer complexity of its multitude of interacting systems, each in themselves pushing the limits of science and machinery, their sheer size and extreme expense in resources and funds, often makes them a valuable symbol of pride for those who build them and operate them. Components Propulsion *'Warp Drive': The single most valuable component of a starship, often accounting for 40 to 80 percent of the cost of construction. The warp drive allows the starship to bridge the enormous distances between stars by going hundreds or thousands of times faster than the speed of light. Despite this speed, it can still take days, weeks, months, or even years to travel long distances. *'Ionic Thrusters': A form of subluminal propulsion which channels ions produced by the power plant into a thruster. Does not use fuel, but drains power from other systems. *'Methane Rocket Thrusters': A form of subluminal propulsion which uses methanol fuel cells as a combustion engine to produce thrust. Uses Methanol as fuel. *'Q-Thrusters': An advanced form of subluminal propulsion which uses quantum-level behavior to produce a thruster which requires no fuel or significant power. The weakest type of thruster, it is often preferred for mass conveyors due to its cheap long-term costs and the fact that such starships are not built for their speed or maneuverability. Construction *'Atmospheric Layer': A layer of protection generally used for radiation or heat shielding, made of gold or other elements (given the name 'atmospherics' as they are primarily used for this purpose). Atmospheric layers are the first line of defense against natural hazards during navigation. *'Structural Layer': The skeleton or frame of the starship, built typically of titanium alloys or graphene. *'Nano-Resin': An advanced technology developed during the Admiralty Era. Nano-Resin instantly fills gaps or holes in the hull, preventing severe structural damage. Brain *'Nervous Mainframe': The starship's 'nervous system' which detects collisions, penetrations, etc. *'Fire Control': A warship's ability and mechanisms to use sensor information to provide firing solutions for hostile starships or other targets. *'Observatories': The starship's sensor suite, including RADAR, infrared, telescopes, distortion wave detectors, Tachyon Sensors, and so on. *Automated Replenishment Weapons and Armour *'Laser Weapons': Lasers, the primary weapon of space warfare. They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and have an effective range of dozens of light-seconds. While generally used for war, civilian mining ships also carry laser armament to use in breaking up smaller asteroids. *'Ballistic Weapons': Usually coilguns, a secondary weapon used against ships at very close range, with higher damage output than lasers. Especially devastating against 'stationary' targets and orbital facilities, which they can destroy nearly instantly. *'Missile Weapons': A tertiary, specialist weapon type, primarily used for bombarding the surface of planets, attacking orbital facilities, and providing a more reliable alternative to coilguns at somewhat longer ranges. Often paired with drones to maximize effectiveness of both weapons. *'Tachyon Weapons': An advanced weapon type, firing a faster-than-light beam similar to a laser, but with an effective range of several light-minutes. Their slow rate of fire and high energy requirements relegate them to secondary weapons rather than replacing lasers. *'Heavy Armour': The simplest of all armour types - simply put a lot of metal between you and the enemy. Works well against just about anything. *'Reactive Armour': Armour which counters enemy weapons with an explosive, electric, or liquid reaction. Especially useful against missiles and guns. *'Ablative Armour': Armour made from materials whose atoms do not gain energy when struck by photons. This makes them resistant to laser damage. Logistics and Life Support *'Cylinder Casings': The 'magazine' of the starship, where bolts and missiles are stored, sometimes externally for easy access by the weapons themselves. Called so for their cylindrical shape. *'Bulk Matter Transmitter': A primitive teleportation device, which cannot safely transport living things, and has a limited range (usually only between different transmitters on the starship itself). Used for rapid delivery of ammunition to needed areas or for offloading cargo. *'Centrifugal Chamber': A centrifuge to generate force similar enough to gravity to allow a baby born on a starship to develop normally. *'Amino-Synthesizer': A device that creates food out of amino acids and proteins. This 'nutrient paste' is lacking in nutrition and unsatisfying, but is a regular part of many spacers' diet. *'Drone Bay': Launch tubes for the starships' drone spacecraft, which serve many purposes. *'Shuttle Bay': Launch tubes for the starships' shuttlecraft, which are larger than drones and generally used to bring away teams to the surface of a planet or deliver cargo when there is no space elevator. *'Water Treatment Plant': Recycling system for drinking water. Generally also comes with desalination, general filtering equipment, and condensers so that the starship can produce potable water from sources encountered in space or on alien planets. *Buoyancy Fluid *Medbay *Nanoforge Energy systems *Antimatter Reactor *Fusion Reactor *Hydro-electric Generator *Tachyon Field Crew Complement Despite most systems being automated, the complexity of these systems means that there is a lot that can go wrong. While much of this is covered by the more-or-less self-aware computers that can repair damages and resolve issues, sometimes it requires human intervention. Category:Starships